Localizing Success

Atlanta’s upper class Buckhead neighborhood has a new addition to inspire its homeowners: the Cambria Gallery Buckhead. Slipped between the legendary Buckhead theater and across the street from the Buckhead Atlanta retail district and a newly opened park, the gallery takes advantage of local foot traffic and the up-and-coming area.

Showroom owners know that one of the most important aspects of a gallery is location. Here, on one of the busiest intersections in Atlanta, global companies pay huge amounts for advertising on billboards, and traffic moves at a crawl in the middle of the afternoon. While there is parallel parking out front, a full parking lot in the back offers two entrances into the gallery, as well as two ways to wow a client on the first glance.

The front entrance has an open lobby area with wine on display and several set-ups that show off the glittering quartz. The select designs give the gallery the opportunity to display the aspects of the product that clients might not be aware of: waterfall edges, backsplashes made of quartz and various types of edges—even curved.

This curved wall is on the bottom floor and is the solution to a problem the designers found in building. Originally an old closet (the space had once been a restaurant and then an art gallery) it looked just like a blank hole at first. Now it’s one of the highlights of the space, with its curved quartz, backlit wall and a fun quartz table that lights up with dots when touched. Coupled with a comfortable couch, this little spot is perfect for children or bored spouses when a client is touring the gallery.

Another different way the gallery shows off its products is simply by furnishing the restrooms with them. A small plaque in each list the products used. The men’s room has a slightly more masculine aesthetic, while the women’s showcases more of the white and glittering products. A small kitchen on the same floor also offers another opportunity to bring the products to light while also making the space available to host cooking events.

“We wanted to make this showroom more of a destination,” said Mitch Hires, co-owner of Construction Resources and owner of the gallery.

In addition to the kitchen below, the wine area in the lobby area (which had to be constructed by digging out an old asphalt road below) and a conference/TV room upstairs makes the space flexible for a number of events. Although it just opened July 6th, the gallery has already had an event with more than 500 people.

“Deadlines are important,” said Hires. “We made a deadline to have an event by this time, and so we were further pushed to complete the space in time.”
The gallery expects to host a number of events, including a wine night on Thursdays, several cooking events and even Braves nights where a group is driven to Turner Field and back afterwards.

Attracting locals is the thought behind the layout, where flow through the space was an essential focus. Upstairs, skylights open up the space and the previously low ceilings. The 122 designs are set out on one wall, with a large table in front so clients can set out samples.

“We’re really excited about this location and being a part of the community here,” said Hires.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2015 at 3:57 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.